How to Ride Star Wars: Rise of Resistance FAQ
The hot new attraction at Walt Disney World is Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance in Hollywood Studios. It’s also the most difficult due to no FastPass+ or standby line. In this ride guide, we’ll answer questions about the virtual queue, boarding groups, and FAQ about the Galaxy’s Edge blockbuster. (Updated February 8, 2021.)
Note that we’ve updated this guide based on the latest trends during the Winter 2021 off-season at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Additionally, we cover all new policies and procedures for experiencing Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance post-reopening of Walt Disney World. There are several changes, including that you have to reserve a Park Pass reservation before visiting, and Hollywood Studios is the most popular option for those.
The good news for those of you who obtain Park Pass reservations is that Walt Disney World is significantly limiting theme park capacity–around 35% of normal attendance. That might sound good, but due to physical distancing on the attraction and shorter hours plus the attraction’s ongoing unreliability means it’s just as challenging as ever…
A comprehensive ‘how to ride’ guide might seem excessive, after all, isn’t it just a matter of “sitting down and buckling up”?! However, protocol and procedure for Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance is fairly unprecedented in a number of ways. This is confusing even longtime Walt Disney World fans, so our goal here is to help you avoid similar frustrations.
If you simply show up at park opening for Disney’s Hollywood Studios and think you’re going to be able to rope drop Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, you’re in for disappointment. To the contrary, your odds are significantly worse if you only do that. It cannot be overstated how different and difficult Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance is to experience.
Hence this ride guide and FAQ, so you can plan accordingly, beat the crowds, and have an incredibly efficient day in Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Here’s everything you need to know about the virtual queue, plus the attraction itself. While the second section is largely spoiler-free, it does remove some ‘elements of surprise.’
Before we dig in, one final note: Walt Disney World tinkers with this virtual queue process regularly. Policies change about every other week. We’re diligent in keeping this updated, so be sure to check back for the latest info–or subscribe to our free Walt Disney World email newsletter for instant updates about all of the latest news, when discounts are released, etc.
Virtual Queue
What is the virtual queue for Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance?
The virtual queue is the sole system for accessing Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance.
Rather than FastPass or a standby line, you join this virtual line via the My Disney Experience app and are notified when it’s your turn to ride. The process requires a few clicks in-app, but it’s pretty intuitive.
What are boarding groups for Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance?
Boarding groups are the means of organizing guests into groups when it’s their turn to ride.
For example, rather than having a set 3-4 pm return time, you might be in boarding group 55. Your return time is not specified in advance, but rather, based upon how quickly the attraction cycles the guests through who are in front of you in the virtual queue. (Plus how many or few times it breaks down.)
When can we enter the virtual queue?
One new positive change Disney has made since reopening is multiple ‘drop times’ for Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance virtual queue boarding passes.
You can join the Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance virtual queue at 7 am or 1 pm via the My Disney Experience app. These changes occurred late last year, and are accurate as of February 2021.
How can I enter the virtual queue at 7 am given that Disney’s Hollywood Studios isn’t open then?
This is the latest change to the virtual queue for Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance virtual queue, and allows guests to attempt joining from their hotel room or wherever they may be.
For those successful at the 7 am entry time, this effectively removes the need to be at Disney’s Hollywood Studios by rope drop. There are still some strategic advantages to that, but it allows for a more leisurely start to the day.
What is the process like for joining the virtual queue?
The steps are pretty similar to the FastPass+ selection process (if you used that before Walt Disney World suspended the service).
With that said, there’s no substitute for seeing for yourself. While it won’t let you complete the process, you can go through the first several steps of joining the virtual queue from home. Be on the My Disney Experience app some morning right when Disney’s Hollywood Studios opens and go through the motions. It’s good practice for the real thing!
Disney WiFi v. Cellular Data?
It really depends on your carrier and where you’re located in the park/resort/etc.
We’d recommend doing a quick speed test with both a few minutes before it’s time to join the virtual queue. Anything at or above 70 Mbps should be sufficient. If necessary, move around to get away from other people or increase your speed to that threshold.
How should we prepare for joining the virtual queue?
This might sound like overkill, but milliseconds matter.
Make sure your phone is fully updated and force close all apps, including My Disney Experience shortly before it’s time to join the virtual queue. Double-check the time on your phone or watch against time.gov, which is what Disney uses for opening the virtual queue.
What’s the best strategic approach for joining a boarding group? Should one person try for everyone, should we each try individually, or what?
Do not try individually–you won’t be in the same boarding groups, meaning you won’t ride together.
We recommend everyone try for everyone in your party. Launch the MDX app about 10 seconds before the official virtual queue entry time and hit the “Join Boarding Group” button. If that doesn’t work, force-refreshing by pulling down “hard.”
Everyone in your party who has a valid Disney Park Pass reservation for Disney’s Hollywood Studios should already be pre-selected. The person in your party with the fastest fingers will score the boarding group, while everyone else will receive a “Not So Fast/Already in Boarding Group” message. Just be sure that anyone in your party who tries for boarding passes attempts to add everyone.
Again, it’s good to do a practice run or two at home so you’re comfortable with the process in the My Disney Experience app so you don’t get flustered and mess up. We’ve heard horror stories of readers clicking through too quickly and forgetting to add one of their family members. Don’t freak out if that happens–go to the Guest Experience Team Cast Members stationed at the blue umbrellas.
What should we do if we fail at the 7 am drop?
It depends. We’ve been recommending that guests book multiple Disney Park Pass reservations for Hollywood Studios prior to their Walt Disney World trips. Hollywood Studios can be fully booked on busier days, whereas EPCOT and Animal Kingdom usually have day-of availability.
Accordingly, it’s savvy to book Park Passes for Hollywood Studios even on your EPCOT or Animal Kingdom days. If you score Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance virtual queue slots on your first try, switch subsequent day reservations to EPCOT or Animal Kingdom. If you fail on the first try, switch that day to EPCOT or Animal Kingdom, and then try again on your second DHS day.
Can we get more than one boarding pass per day?
No.
Is there a separate virtual queue to enter Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge?
No.
You can enter the land freely at any time of day.
What happens if we have an Advance Dining Reservation that conflicts with our virtual queue return time?
Ideally, you should see a Cast Member at the Guest Experience Team stands (look for the blue umbrella) located throughout the park. They can assist with scheduling conflicts.
Failing that, see a Cast Member at the attraction entrance–they are typically pretty flexible.
Do reservations for Oga’s Cantina or Droid Depot get us spots in the virtual queue for Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance?
No.
Which days of the week are best for visiting Disney’s Hollywood Studios?
For vacation planners who will be visiting every Walt Disney World park, we recommend doing Disney’s Hollywood Studios on Saturday or Sunday. This is because Disney’s Hollywood Studios is the only park that consistently comes closer to running out of Disney Park Pass reservations.
Other parks only run out from time to time on weekends, when locals are off work. While Disney’s Hollywood Studios can be slightly busier on weekends, every other park is much busier on weekends. It basically comes down to the crowd differential.
With that said, off-season weekdays (as of February 2021) have definitely been less busy than weekends at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. This is especially true on non-holiday weekdays when Cast Members are blocked out (see calendar). Even with all of that said, we recommend weekends–but it’s ultimately your call.
What time does Disney’s Hollywood Studios allow guests to enter the park?
Recently, Disney’s Hollywood Studios has been opening the turnstiles about 45 minutes before official park opening time.
With the new 7 am virtual queue time, we’d expect that to gradually change, with ~30 minutes of early entry becoming the norm. Note that this does not happen at a set time and this early opening of the turnstiles is not published anywhere officially.
What time can off-site guests enter Disney’s Hollywood Studios?
Everyone can enter at the same time.
What time do other attractions at Disney’s Hollywood Studios open?
Most attractions at Disney’s Hollywood Studios open at when the turnstiles open. That can vary from day to day.
When should we get to Disney’s Hollywood Studios for rope drop?
If you’re wanting to do park opening, arrive at Disney’s Hollywood Studios roughly one hour before the official park opening time. It’ll take around 15 minutes to get through bag check and the turnstiles, that should give you at least 30 minutes to do an attraction or two before the official park opening time and crowds arrive. See our updated 1-Day Disney’s Hollywood Studios Itinerary for morning ride recommendations and step-by-step advice for your entire day.
When you should leave your hotel room in order to arrive by then is a different matter entirely and depends upon where you’re staying and the mode of transportation you use. Don’t cut things too close–Walt Disney World transportation usually takes longer than anticipated.
How do we time our arrival if we score Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance virtual queue spots but want to arrive late?
A good rule of thumb is that Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance averages about 12 boarding groups per hour. However, due to its reliability woes, sometimes that can be as low as 0 per hour or as high as 18 per hour. Over the course of most days, it averages out to about 10-14 per hour, though.
Accordingly, if you’re boarding group 48, you could plan to arrive at Disney’s Hollywood Studios around 4 hours after park opening. Boarding group 60 could do 5 hours after park opening (and so on).
When will crowds subside?
During Walt Disney World’s phased reopening, the “feels like” crowds and congestion are generally moderate. Not nearly as bad as early in the year. However, demand still far exceeds supply for Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance. This will only get worse as we enter the heart of the holiday season.
We anticipate that remaining the case with Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance for the entirety of 2021. It would not surprise us if the virtual queue system remains in place come 2022.
Is it safe to rely on Walt Disney World transportation for getting to DHS in time for park opening?
It depends. If you’re staying at one of the Crescent Lake resorts, it’s absolutely ‘safe’ to walk to DHS. If you’re staying at a Skyliner resort, it’s not possible to get to Disney’s Hollywood Studios by the unofficial park opening time due to Skyliner operating hours. It’s now totally pointless to arrive at official park opening due to the 7 am virtual queue entry time.
Buses at other resorts can be dicey due to the current capacity and physical distancing limitations. Because of this, we highly recommend renting a rental car or Uber if you’re visiting Walt Disney World between now and (at least) Spring 2021.
What about Extra Magic Hours at Disney’s Hollywood Studios?
During its phased reopening, Walt Disney World has temporarily suspended Extra Magic Hours, meaning that’s not currently a relevant consideration.
Should we buy Park Hopper tickets?
If you’ve read our Money-Saving Walt Disney World Ticket Guide, you know that we typically recommend Park Hopper tickets. They allow you to bounce around, which is strategically advantageous.
Park Hopper tickets are temporarily suspended during Walt Disney World’s phased reopening, but will return on January 1, 2021. You will need to Park Hop from Disney’s Hollywood Studios to another park if you want to experience Rise of the Resistance, as the attraction will not be offered to those who Park Hop to DHS.
What time is Rise of the Resistance running out of boarding passes?
There is no set time, but it has been occurring in under 30 seconds of boarding group distribution times.
Going forward, we expect this trend will continue.
What are backup boarding groups?
Higher numbered boarding groups that are not guaranteed access to Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance. Think of these as overflow or a waitlist.
Sometimes the back-up boarding groups are making it onto Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, sometimes they aren’t. Usually both primary and backup boarding groups are gone within seconds or minutes of the virtual queue opening up.
Does everyone have to be present to join the virtual queue, or can we send one ‘runner’ to the park?
For the 7 am entry, the only requirement is a valid Disney Park Pass reservation. Since DHS isn’t open at that hour, entering the park isn’t even possible for that.
For the 1 pm entry, everyone in your party must tap into Disney’s Hollywood Studios before they’re eligible to join the virtual queue.
What if we’re all near the park?
Nope.
It’s not based upon proximity–this functionality only unlocks in the My Disney Experience app once you physically tap into the park’s tap/turnstiles. It’s worth noting that you can leave after tapping in and still join during the afternoon entry time from your hotel room or wherever. The system only validates whether you’ve tapped in, not your current location.
Can we leave the park once joining the virtual queue?
Yes. You could go back to your resort and take a nap, eat lunch, etc.
How do we know when we can return?
If your phone has push notifications for My Disney Experience enabled, you’ll receive an alert that your boarding group has been called.
Failing that, the “My Status” screen on the Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance screen displays the same information.
The virtual queue sounds like a hassle, can we just wait in a regular standby line?
No.
Does Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance accommodate Disability Access Service (DAS) card?
Yes, but this is still truly first come, first served.
That means everyone must join the virtual queue first, which means arriving and going through that just like everyone else. To take advantage of DAS, go to the FastPass return line once your boarding group is called.
What about Rider Switch?
Yep, same process as above.
How long is the average wait once in the physical line?
Assuming nothing breaks down and the attraction didn’t just return from being down, around 20-40 minutes.
Boarding groups are fairly small in size, so if you get lucky and return at the “right” time, most of the queue will be empty and you’ll practically walk on the attraction. Time it poorly and things can back up quite a bit, and you might be in a line that’s closer to an hour long. We’ve been in line when the ride breaks down and ended up having to wait over 2 hours.
When will the virtual queue system end?
This is the system that Walt Disney World will use indefinitely, until either demand dies down or the attraction becomes reliable.
We do not anticipate either of those things occurring in the next year-plus. Expect this same system to still be in use come Summer 2021.
Should we just wait to do Rise of the Resistance until our late 2021 Walt Disney World trip?
We wouldn’t recommend it for both the reasons identified immediately above and below.
Additionally, this is a very complex attraction with a lot of practical effects, some of which may not exist forever. Just ask anyone who rode Expedition Everest or Indiana Jones Adventure the first year those attractions were open how the original rides compare to today.
This is pretty complicated…is Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance worth jumping through all of these hoops?
It’s complicated to understand because it’s new and different, but once you experience it in person, it’s really not that difficult.
Moreover, as we write in our spoiler-free Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance Ride Review, this is one of Walt Disney World’s best attractions ever. It’s absolutely worth the effort.
When will this all die down?
Never? Maybe when your kids have kids?
Flight of Passage is just as popular today as it was over three years ago, and still can be a hassle. And that’s for a ride based on Avatar–this is Star Wars. On top of that, crowds are only likely to get worse, with other new additions and Walt Disney World’s 50th Anniversary around the corner. Don’t wait.
Ride Info for Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance
Will I like this if I’m not a huge Star Wars fan?
Much like you can enjoy Splash Mountain without ever seeing Song of the South or Flight of Passage without ever seeing Avatar, you can enjoy Rise of the Resistance without ever seeing a single Star Wars film.
Fans of the franchise will likely get more out of it, but the ride works on multiple levels and the storyline requires no prior knowledge to understand. In fact, our favorite character in Rise of the Resistance is new for this attraction!
If I have a YouTube channel dedicated to complaining about how Disney destroyed Star Wars with the last movie, will I enjoy this?
I hope not.
What’s the heigh requirement?
You must be at least 40″ tall to ride Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance.
What rides does Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance compare to?
Not much at Walt Disney World.
It’s a bit like a dark ride, except trackless and mildly exhilarating. Think somewhere between Spaceship Earth and Dinosaur, with some qualities of Tower of Terror. The trackless dark ride element is comparable to the upcoming Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure at Epcot. (Ride vehicle pictured below.)
Is it family friendly?
Absolutely. There’s the aforementioned height requirement due to a drop and a variety of boilerplate health warnings, but otherwise this is okay for all ages.
Is the drop intense?
No. The drop in Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance is more like the one in Pirates of the Caribbean than the ones in Tower of Terror. It might catch you by surprise, but it’s more of a “haha” thrill than an “aaaahhhh” thrill.
That still sounds too intense–is there a ‘chicken exit’?
Yes, and we’d highly encourage you to utilize it, as over half of the attraction occurs before boarding a ride vehicle.
If you don’t want to ride, simply notify a Cast Member at the point where they’re assigning colors. They will direct you to the exit at that point.
Any issues for guests with motion sickness?
If you’re fine doing Toy Story Mania, you’ll be fine here. The ride portion utilizes a trackless ride system, and the vehicles have nimble and dynamic ‘dancing’ movements.
Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance is not like motion simulator like Star Tours or even Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run.
Wait a second…Toy Story Mania…is this 3D?!
Nope. There are some screens, but no 3D.
The Toy Story Mania comparison is most apt because of the way that can spin you around at times.
Is Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance better than Smugglers Run, Slinky Dog Dash, Frozen Ever After, or Flight of Passage?
Yes, yes, yes, and yes.
The only one of those that even belongs in the same conversation as Rise of the Resistance is Flight of Passage, and although they’re very different attractions, we’ll state this without equivocation: Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance is better than Avatar Flight of Passage.
Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance is one of the top 10 Disney attractions in the world, on an epic scale that’s only rivaled by Pirates of the Caribbean: Battle for the Sunken Treasure at Shanghai Disneyland. Whether it has the same longevity as all-time greats like Haunted Mansion and (regular) Pirates of the Caribbean remains to be seen.
If you’re planning on visiting the new land, you’ll also want to read our Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge Guide. This covers a range of topics from basics about the land and its location, to strategically choosing a hotel for your stay, recommended strategy for the land, and how to beat the crowds. It’s a good primer for this huge addition. As for planning the rest of your trip, we have a thorough Walt Disney World Planning Guide.
Your Thoughts
Do you have any questions this FAQ failed to answer? If you’ve done Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, do you think there’s anything else first-timers should know? Do you agree or disagree with any of our advice or answers? Any questions? Hearing your feedback—even when you disagree with us—is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
Nvm, I was able to change my park reservation after not getting into the RotR virtual queue. It was really easy. I just canceled the original one around 7:02 am (the same day it was scheduled) and booked the new one. Beforehand, I made sure there were still park reservations available for that day though. Hopefully, this helps anyone who has a future question about it like I did yesterday.
I’m not sure if this has already been answered, but if you don’t get into the 7 am boarding group, are you allowed to change your park pass reservation to another park if there are still other park passes available for that same day?
The size of your group does not make a difference because the names are already checked off. You don’t have to select each person. We were there Christmas week with a party of 8 and were able to join the 1pm group one Fay snd the 7am group a different day. Good luck!
We have a big family. I think selecting 8 people by someone with a group of 2, will
Drastically slow me down. Any ideas?
Sorry, meant to say “versus someone with a group of 2”
We just got back from an amazing 7 full day trip to WDW. We hit every park with HS and MK 2x on diff days. We followed Toms tips forth ROTR and got in BITH times for the 7am queue. One was boarding group 83 and for Saturday we got in the BG 27.
We set our alarms for 6:40am. We also were staying at The Grove vs the WD resorts. Made sure to turn off WiFi and had all other apps on phone “forced closed.” Once in the queue we just kept hard pulling and letting it “refresh” till it said “Join Group”…
The biggest help i think was following the time.gov website as most everyone’s cell phones are roughly :30 secs off and that could cost guests their chance to ride.
ROTR was FANTASTIC and absolutely and easily our favorite attraction! Well worth the effort as Tom has repeatedly mentioned. The actual ROTR queue is amazing as well!
We were at DHS today (12/20), so just sharing my experience with the pointers here. I did everything from closing all my apps, performing the speed test, etc. I immediately had a sinking feeling from my room last night when I did the speed test and had a measly 4.5 mbps on the hotel (CBR) wifi, and even less on my cellular data (Sprint). We headed to the lobby and still only came up with the low to mid 20s, far below the recommended 70. But it was the best we could get and obviously way better than in our room, so we headed to the lobby around 6:40 this morning and looked ridiculous walking to random corners trying to find even one more mbps. The most we could get was 26. My boyfriend did the time.gov countdown. I refreshed right before 7 and had to refresh again. Then it froze when I hit join, and I couldn’t tell if it was bad service, a glitch, or my phone. Then when it finally hit the screen to select parties, it felt like forever loading and my heart completely sank. I got to the next screen, and we were BG 63!!! It felt like forever to me, but my boyfriend was still watching time.gov and said it all happened in under three seconds. Despite down time this morning, they got to our group before 2 today. So good luck, and don’t lose all hope if the hotel wifi speeds are the best you can do. All the advice in here was invaluable, though, so thank you Tom and everyone else with tips.
If you are lucky enough to get a pass and lucky enough to be called, how much time do you have to report to the ride? An hour? 2 hours? 15 minutes?
You get 1 hour To return back to the ride from the time it says on your boarding group. Which alleviated a lot of stress and anxiety for me… Personally I thought you had to be there within 10 minutes or you will lose your spot…whew!
We were there the first week of December. We happened to have scheduled 2 days back to back at Hollywood Studios. The first morning we attempted to score a boarding pass and they were full literally at 7:00:10. I talked to a cast member at the queue and she recommended we use our cell data vs Disney wifi and have all of our party selected. We did that at 2 pm and got group 101. That day the last group to ride was 90. So the next morning we tried again and got boarding group 11. Not sure if it was a coincidence that we were 11 groups away from boarding the day before and then ended up in that group the next day. The ride is totally worth all of the effort!
Tom is a rock star! Thanks for updating this.
After reading this update and failing to get in Tues… recruited “college student power” aka “the generation that’s been clicking screens since a birth” to man the app and I on the time.gov clock counting down. Bingo – were in for today!
The only update I would add is at least right now the click window is easily <3-5 seconds (if that). Cra cra!! Worse then trying to get nfl playoff tix last year by far.
Hey Dis Fam! We are about to hit WDW parks for 2 days after Christmas!! Excited but nervous as we’ve never been during peak times like this! We also chose to stay at Disney Nextdoor Hotel do you think the same process will work from nearby hotel (The Grove)??
Thanks so much for all your help Tom and to the many readers who comment as well with their experiences. So glad found y’all!
You already have your park reservations, right? I hadn’t heard of The Grove before, so I looked it up. It’s kind of between Western Way and 192, west of 429 toll road.
@debC yes we got our reservations for HS for 2 separate days…looks like The Grove Resort is only 6 miles from the parks. Just hoping I can still try to join the ROTR queue with any luck! I may have to have my 18 year old and 16 year old do the screen refreshing etc like Kyle above suggested.
The Grove appears to be close to the new College Program housing (when that program finally reopens). It should be good from there.
Question: I see the term “backup group” used. Does DXP use that term, do the castmembers use that term, or has it just developed unofficially by guests for high numbered groups…like 85, for instance? 🙂
Got a group!
Group: 85.
At the 27 mbs I get in my room on Pop Century’s wifi.
I read the guide and comments and started force refreshing @ 6:57 a.m., hit “join” when it popped up, confrmed, all under 3 seconds, and got a high numbered group. If the 10 per hour average holds, and my math is right, we should make it, and even have a small margin of error, sometime between 5-6 p.m. No guarantees, of course.
My LTE (Sprint/T-Mobile) was under 10 mbs. My wifi speed didn’t change with or without force closing the apps, and my room was the best wifi speed anywhere near our building.
But, yeah, when Tom says milliseconds matter, it is NOT overkill!
With a faster connection, we’d be in a higher group, with a better chance to get on. If my connection was just slightly slower, we wouldn’t have gotten a group at all.
Off to Hollywood, with fingers crossed!
Well. Going to try my luck tomorrow. The Visa Cardholder discount made me an offer my wife couldn’t refuse, as she wanted to see Christmas, but only at Pop Century, where I’m only getting about 27 mbs (Thanks again for your post on that discount!. I never could find it under special offers; I used your link to make our reservations). And, yes, that’s after I force closed everything.
But this guidehas been very helpful, even if we don’t get in at 7 or 2 tomorrow. Thanks!
I completely understand keeping up with the times and Disney will always have the need to be at the forefront of modern technology. I get it. But truth be told, the smartphone is only as ‘smart’ as its operator. Some of us over the age of 60 are plain and simply not as adroit nor as fast as those younger than we. In that respect, my chances of ever being quick enough to nab a boarding group number are slim to none – is that what you’re saying? That’s okay – I’ll leave “Rise” to those who likely would appreciate it to it’s fullest extent and go get a corn dog.
It alienates all sorts of people. No smart phone?Too bad. Have low vision, arthritis, partial paralysis or neuropathy? Too bad. Only could afford one day in this park? Cancel your reservation to the Magic Kingdom tomorrow and try again tomorrow, or too bad. WDW has a real problem here. I am surprised WDW just don’t charge extra for ROTR (a la the Disney +/Mulan experiment). I will skip that park until it is corrected.
7am today – queue was full by 10 seconds in. 2pm – was standing in line for another ride and tried to clock in same time as people in front us, they got I didn’t… literally 2-3 seconds after 2pm. Cra cra!
Hi,is there a distance limit when trying to check in to the queue,I’ll be in Tampa area around 7 Am is that ok or do I need to be closer to Hollywood Studios?
And is it better for 2 people to try on the app at the same time?
We are going tomorrow,Thank you!
Hi Tom! Quick question about trying to get a boarding group at 7am. So you feel that each person in our party should try to log into my Disney experience to get a boarding group for our family? I have spoken to numerous cast members who keep telling me that only one person should do it. If each person has to log into my Disney experience can they use my login or do they each have to have their own logins? I appreciate your help! Of course we are going to Disney during Christmas week so I feel my chances are even less. Any help I can get I will take it!
We successfully got a boarding group last Tuesday (Dec 7th) following Tom’s advice. Family of four, each phone with My Disney Experience with the same login. My husband and I each had two phones at 6:58 a.m. Force closed all apps. Logged into MDX, went to Join Virtual Queue and made sure everyone was selected. Forced refreshed over and over until 7:00 a.m. Got boarding group 73 on one phone, other phones showed error once we were in the boarding group. Follow Tom’s advice to the letter! If we didn’t get the boarding group we planned to switch park reservation to Epcot and try again the next day. We made multiple HS park reservations, but not sure if that will be possible around Xmas. Good luck! It’s totally worth all the effort. We didn’t read any spoilers and were blown away.
Very good FAQ, with one exception. I do think it is kid friendly for around age 7 and up. But the low height limit means kids as young as 3 could technically ride, and that is a bit dicier. We took our 4 year old and he was NOT happy (and he LOVED millenium falcon and star tours). To a little kid, in-character CMs that seem funny to us are just mean, and the main bad guy on the ride (trying to avoid spoilers) is a little too lifelike and therefore just terrifying. He was in tears by the end of the ride. We saw another family with a bawling kid and one little girl who kept burying her face in her parent’s chest. So I would not say it is totally kid friendly as it is definitely the most dark/adult of the star wars rides.
Agreed. The first time my son went, he was four and wasn’t thrilled. Luckily many of the cast members backed off a bit from their roles. He still wasn’t thrilled. He enjoyed it overall I think. We’ve been on it again a year later and he loved it.
Yesterday, we got boarding group 85. We were called at 1:35 pm. Given the time to get there, the line wait and the ride time, there was no way we could do the ride without significantly running over our ADR for 2:05 @ Prime Time Cafe. I’d noticed that at 8:41am, they were already boarding groups 1-10 and throughout that the pace, unless a breakdown happened, was going to be faster than I’d thought., so I followed the guide and went to guest relations, where I was told not to worry, that I’d have up to an hour to get our pass from the time we were called.
Since there was no way my wife or I or the kid were going to be finished by 2:32, I went and checked at Rise of the Resistance. As soon as I told them our ADR was at Prime Time, they told us to go there first, since our credit card would be charged (they’d run the numbers and realized how late we’d be if we rode the ride first).
Dine we did, and got back 2 hours after we’d initially been called. We explained and they sent us right on with zero problems.
Great ride!
FYI, when we left at park closing, they were boarding groups 140-145.
Thanks again for the great guide!
No idea how my reply got here, but as to the ability to handle this ride, my wife, who can’t handle Slinky Dog Dash, loved it and had no problems with the “drop” part of the ride.
Just depends on the child. My 4 year old son has been on it 3x and LOVES it. One of his favorite rides hands down. My 3 year old niece who chickens out on rides like pirates and anything scary or fast, did great with ROTS. No tears, she loved it!
Should we try to get a Rise boarding pass while on the Disney wifi, or should we just use data? Thanks!
I tested our hotel wifi the day before at that time, and it was surprisingly fast. I started refreshing the app at 6:58 and right at 7:00 I got all six of us in. Two minutes later, the queue was full.
My husband and I were both trying to get boarding groups this morning. We both were able to hit the join button, we got to the screen where our party should be added, and when we hit join again, an error screen popped up on the bottom. We tried refreshing that, then x-ing it. This happened several times, until a red box popped up that said all ques were distributed. I know it’s a crap shoot, but I just want to make sure this is what everyone sees and not something wrong with our app that I could fix. If it matters, I was on t-mobile let, he was on yacht club’s WiFi. We are on a (probably) once in a lifetime trip, so we moved days around and will try again tomorrow! But I have to get this to work! My kids will be devastated if we don’t.
What you saw and experienced is normal, unfortunately. The system makes it look like you might’ve done something wrong, but that’s not the case. Better luck tomorrow!